For Teens

It’s your future. You can protect it!

This Web page is especially for teens and designed with input from teens. As a teenager, you have more power than anyone to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Find out what you need to know before you begin having sex. It doesn’t matter what sex or gender your partner is, you both need to be protected. If you are having sex, you can protect yourself and your partner from pregnancy, STDs, and HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus). Even if you are not having sex yet, be prepared.

For information about waiting to have sex (abstinence), including how to talk to your partner about it—

The best birth control for you is the one you use the correct way, each and every time you have sex!

Be Strong! Knowledge is power!

If you are sexually active, protect yourself and your partner from pregnancy, HIV, and other STDs. Even if you or your partner is using another type of birth control, agree to use a condom every time you have sex, to reduce the risk to both of you for HIV and most other STDs. Birth control (such as the pill, patch, ring, implant, shot, or an IUD) provides highly effective pregnancy prevention, but it does not protect you from HIV and other STDs. Condoms can reduce the risk to both of you for most STDs, including HIV, as well as the risk for pregnancy.

His condom + her hormonal birth control or IUD = DOUBLE PROTECTION

Be responsible! Visit your local health care center

Many clinics provide free or low-cost counseling and reproductive health services, including birth control, for teens. By law, Title X family planning clinics must offer private and confidential services for teens